Duplus

Chapter 3

It had been a few days since Amaani had seen the guy and it was the last thing on her mind too. The day she had brought the groceries with her, Sufiyaan was really happy. He had received a raise at work which was a surprise because the Muslim community there didn't have countable rich people who could raise salaries.

"Why don't we go to the near ground to eat ice cream?" Sufiyaan suggested out of the blue. Amaani perked up, a little startled. She raised an eyebrow at him as if checking whether it was him alright. 

"Is this my bro Sufiyaan speaking?" She asked, standing up from her seat and walking in front of him. Her tall figure blocked Sufiyaan's view of the TV screen. 

Sufiyaan gave her an unimpressed look. "Of course it's me." He said, not even bothering to tell her to move aside. Amaani gasped dramatically, putting a hand on her chest. "I don't believe it! My brother just offered to treat me to ice cream!" She exclaimed. 

Sufiyaan rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Amaani. I usually treat you to ice cream. Don't be like that." He told her. Amaani jumped in beside him and gave him a goofy grin. 

"Yeah, yeah I know. Should I get ready then?" She asked, pointing her thumb towards her room—corner of the house. "Wait, right now?" He questioned, surprised. Amaani nodded quickly. "What are we waiting for? Next year? Come on!" 

She pulled the white strand in her hair out of her eye and tucked it behind her ear again. 

"Okay then. I'll be ready in two minutes. Wait for me at the gate!" She didn't let Sufiyaan say anything because hey, she had already made her decision. She rushed to wear her cloak and cover her face securely with a pin. 

She was excited to go to the park-type ground with her favorite person. Most importantly, her Mehram. 

....

"It's really chilly out here tonight." Sufiyaan remarked, walking beside his sister. Amaani nodded brightly. "Yeah! the perfect weather to eat ice cream." She said. 

Sufiyaan smiled a little at her. "You're amazing, Amaani." He said in a low voice. Amaani perked up at this. "Why do you say that?" She shifted her gaze from her cousin to the footpath. 

"After all we've been through, how can you be so jolly and cheerful all the time. With what happened back in our country, it was enough to leave everyone with deep sorrow and regrets. But you act as if nothing ever happened and live everyday with so much joy and happiness." Sufiyaan sighed after he finished his little speech. 

Amaani looked at him for a minute and then passed a smile. It was moments like these which reminded Amaani that Sufiyaan really was younger than her. 

"Because I think Allah chose us, Sufiyaan." She started. Sufiyaan gave her a confused look. "Try to understand, Sufiyaan. If our lives were not special to Allah then He would have included us in those who were killed by the soldiers." She looked ahead. 

"But He didn't. He let us live. I think that's because Allah has a plan for us to achieve something big in the name of Islam." Sufiyaan kept his gaze on her as she spoke. It was like she had switched personalities in a matter of seconds. 

"And I think that if we don't be grateful to Allah by living the precious life He gave us, to its fullest, then we're the worst kind of people. I've stopped feeling sad. Because I don't have the right to." 

Amaani stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Sufiyaan. The serious look in her eyes changed into a glint of excitement. She pointed at something behind him.

"The ice cream stand! Go get us ice cream, Sufiyaan!" She cried excitedly. Sufiyaan blinked. He was a little shaken out of the previous atmosphere. Amaani had the power to flip atmospheres in seconds. He laughed inwardly at that. 

"Okay okay, Amaani. I'm going. Grab us a separate bench and I'll be right back." He didn't wait for Amaani to grant him permission and ran off in the direction of the stand. 

Amaani chuckled as she looked at him run. 

Amaani walked on a little to look for a bench in the big ground. The ground was beautiful under the night sky and since they were close to the desert, night time was one of the most beautiful scenes. She was just observing her surroundings, visible by the moonlight. 

Everything was great but for some reason, a bad feeling hit her. It was like she was being followed or being watched. She ignored the thought and kept walking. 

She had just found a spot when a loud scream erupted in the distance. She couldn't help but want to check it out. From a distance, she could see two figures getting into each other's faces as if they were in a big argument. 

She looked back in the direction Sufiyaan had headed off to and back at the two figures. 

It wouldn't hurt to go check it out. 

And she knew this would get her into trouble but she couldn't help herself. She rushed towards the two, looking around to see whether anyone was near. That particular area of the ground was isolated so it was no wonder that there was no one except them. 

When she had come closer to them, she realized it was actually a quarrel between two sisters. 

"You're always stealing my things! We've been trying so hard to get by and you're always taking things out of mom's purse!" One yelled at the other. 

Both of them looked like teenagers. 

"And you are always screaming at mom and dad just because you can! You're more of a fox than I am." 

"Girls, calm down..." 

Amaani just stood there for a moment, hesitant to intervene. She didn't want to interfere with their personal matters but it was like the fight was just getting worse. 

"Why you!" The one with the scarf jumped at the other, ready to attack her. The other tried to pry her off. It was then Amaani couldn't take it and tried to separate the two from killing each other. 

"Hey, hey. Enough with this." Amaani tried to pull them away from attacking each other but it was no use. One of them slapped the other, while the other dug her long nails into her sister's skin. 

Both of them howled in pain. But it grew worse when the one with the scarf tried to punch the other. Amaani knew she had to stop them right there, so she did what made the most sense to her. 

She pushed the more aggressive one with just enough strength to pull her away, making her fall straight to the ground. Amaani stepped back immediately, realizing she had done something she shouldn't have. 

Amaani was confused. She hadn't pushed her so hard. The other sister rushed to her sister quickly. "Oh no! What have you done?! My sister has a deep injury in her head!" she cried, holding her sister in her lap. 

The girl looked like she had fainted. Amaani's heartbeat got faster. She gulped. "B-but I didn't even hit her that hard!" She defended herself weakly. 

As if on cue, Sufiyaan came with two cups in his hands. "What's going on here, Amaani?" He looked terribly confused and worried, seeing the collapsed girl on the ground. 

The girl's sister shook her furiously. "Get up, Sumayyah! Come on!" She cried. Suddenly, she halted. Slowly, she picked her sister's—Sumayyah's wrist and felt her pulse.

Amaani couldn't believe her eyes. She rushed close to Sufiyaan, scared out of her mind. But she had not pushed her so hard to make her fall! In silent horror, both of them waited for the girl to speak up. 

The girl looked up at Amaani, her teary eyes filled with rage, anger and hatred for her. Something Amaani had never seen in someone's eyes for her. 

"Sumayyah's dead. You killed her."